How does a family law case work?
At Family Lawyers for You, many of our clients who contact us, or who have their cases referred to us, will not have had many dealings with the family law legal system before. Knowing how a family law case works and having a family lawyer prepared to explain the processes behind your family law case can make a big difference in terms of how you feel about the your case and the end result.
Broadly speaking, family lawyers work within three different areas to help their clients. There are those family lawyers who specialise in divorce proceedings and the splitting up of assets between parties in a divorce. Then there are family lawyers who deal with cases involving children. These cases can be linked in with divorces as they may involve working out the visitation, residence and support agreements for children of the parties involved in a divorce. The third category of family lawyer deals with cases where domestic violence has taken place. These family lawyers handle applications for injunctions under the Family Law Act 1996.
Knowing how your family law case is going to work can be very important, as you are likely to feel better about the process if you know what is going to happen next in your case, whether you might need to give evidence in court, or to attend a meeting or a case conference. A great family lawyer, like those here at Family Lawyers for You, will be on hand to explain what is going to happen in your case and what might be expected of you in a way that you understand, without using complicated legal jargon!
How do divorce law cases work?
If youve seen some of the depictions of divorce on TV, or you have read about some of the payments in divorce cases involving celebrities or wealthy business people, you might be tempted to think that divorce law cases are vastly expensive and might involve spending a lot of time in court. Fortunately, as our family law experts know, the vast majority of divorce cases are concluded without either party having to go to court.
Most divorce cases are undefended, as this can cost a fortune and take many months. Instead, the most common way that a divorce law case works is by an exchange of documents which is handled by the solicitors representing both parties in the divorce. These paper divorces, as they are known, are often written in very formal legal language, but if you do not understand any part of your divorce, then you should ask your family lawyer, who will be happy to explain it to you. A more detailed guide to divorces is available here.
How do cases involving civil partnerships work?
There are a number of stages involved if you are looking to dissolve your civil partnership. These stages take place over a set time-frame which is designed so that your partner has time to respond to any petition you make to the court to dissolve the civil partnership. Our family lawyers are experienced when it comes to dealing with the dissolution of civil partnerships and you can find more information about our services by visiting our civil partnerships guide.
How do child custody and cases involving children work?
As we mentioned above, divorces are a common cause of child law cases, particularly child custody disputes. Other family law child cases can involve children who are at risk of abuse and who are in care, or who might be being taken into care. These cases are amongst the most sensitive types of family law and here are Family Lawyers for You, we have Law Society Accredited Child Law solicitors ready to deal with your child law case. For a more detailed guide to the child law services we our able to provide here at Family Lawyers for You, read our child custody, residence and contact guide.
How do domestic violence cases work?
In cases of domestic violence, one of the most important things that your family lawyer can do is to help you to obtain an injunction against the perpetrator of the violence. These injunctions were made available by a piece of law known as the Family Law Act 1996. There are two main types of injunction available in this act and these are a Non-Molestation Order and an Occupation Order. To find out more about how domestic violence cases work you can read our domestic violence law guide.’